1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a line guide attachable either to a fishing rod. More particularly, it relates to a funnel-like or trumpet-like guide of specific critical dimensions functioning as interior of the guide ring of such line guide.
2. Background
The novel invention is intended to address an angler's increased casting capabilities with substantially more distance and accuracy.
Line guides of the type above referred to serve to guide the fishing line along the fishing rod in a unique fashion so that a terminal tackle (bait or lure) can be casted with substantially increased distance and accuracy. The fishing line is generally in contact with the inner surface of the guide ring of line guides. At times, this contact is a pressure contact, i.e., when a hooked fish is being fought and retrieved. The guide for the line is further adapted such that the line can be let out and reeled in without becoming entangled with the rod itself or otherwise. Specifically, the fishing line is in contact with at least a point within the inner surface of the guide ring of line guides. This contact may be a pressure contact, for instance, when a heavy sinker is attached to the hook carrying end of the line or a caught fish is played. The passage speed of the line through the guide ring of a line may be slow, for instance, when the fisherman just lets out the line until the bait reaches bottom or very fast when the fisherman is casting or plays a caught fish.
As it is evident from the afore-listed conditions under which a fishing line functions, the friction between the line and the running surface of the line guides is a significant factor largely controlling the useful lifetime of the line and in particular its resistance to failing or otherwise snapping under strain. The friction factor is particularly important as the smoothness of the line surface ring may be compromised by natural elements, for example, salt water, sand, dirt, sunlight, etc. and/or restricted by sand, various substances, or dirt particles adhering to the line. Failure of the line while in use is not only annoying to the fisherman, but may also be quite costly.
Various attempts have been made to reduce the friction between the line and the ring of a line guide to a minimum, both as to the shape of the guide ring and the material used for its running surface. There are known line guides of rectangular configuration to provide a relatively large and flat running surface to avoid the formation of grooves in the inner ring surface as may occur when the line is confined to narrow running surfaces but line guides so shaped have relatively sharp edges even if these edges are rounded and friction is substantially increased when the line, due to the pull direction, contacts an edge under pressure. Most line guides as now used have a circular, or at least substantially circular configuration. Such line guides have neither flat running surfaces nor edges.
Various attempts have also been made to provide material for the rings of line guides which has a low friction factor, is sufficiently hard to avoid or at least reduce the formation of scratches and grooves by abrasive particles carried by the line and is not sensitive to corrosion by salt water. For instance, several types of alumina have been used for guide rings.
In 1977 Rienzo, Sr. received U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,680 for a line guide for a fishing line comprising a generally ring-shaped guide member made of a material consisting of titanium and ceramic as a binder, a matchingly shaped band of hard metal encompassing said guide member with a tight fit, and a mounting means fixedly secured to said metal band for fastening the guide member and the band to a fishing rod. The Rienzo guide member is a ring made of titanium dioxide and may include an admixture of carbon. Then, in 1979 Ohmura received U.S. Pat. No. 4,174,583 for a line guide ring made of a ceramic suspensorily upheld within a fixing ring similar to that of Rienzo but made of an elastic metallic material such as stainless steel while leaving a plurality of separate gaps between the two rings which function as a shock absorber but omitting the conventionally use intermediate cushion ring to minimize the entire size and weight of the line guide assembly.